Feeling nostalgic, I recently flipped through the channels to watch an old childhood cartoon favorite, The Jetsons. Afterward I saw it from a new perspective. In 1962 Hanna-Babera animators had created a new entertainment to portray space age life in the year 2062. It’s been 40 years since that time and we have 40 years to go to see if the Jetsons lifestyle really comes to pass. But does a simple cartoon have more to offer than laughs about the future? I think so, in the soul of a Robot
The character that most intrigues me is called Rosey, the Jetson’s Robot. She is the connecting force in The Jetsons. The rest of the future, however, looks quite bleak:
The future as depicted in The Jetsons, shows life disconnected from Earth. But Rosey keeps the family from feeling the existential isolation of the space age. Rosey saves them. She makes home safe and welcoming.
The Jetsons is about a futuristic family of four including two parents and their two children. George is the Dad, Jane is the Mom, and they have a teenage daughter Judy and a very bright young son, Elroy. Their family lives a high-tech life. They jet around in flying cars amid the density of lofty Skypad residences and high-rise offices and schools. Their house is filled with flatscreens, video chats, and buttons to push that make instant dinners. In fact, buttons are everywhere and are the bane of Jane’s life – buttons make her fingers sore. Jane needs help.
Then Rosey is hired. But Rosey is not very futuristic-looking. She has a retro look of an early 20th century clanky robot with clicking sounds and moves on a single wheel. Her style is that of yesteryear housekeeper, wearing a white apron and bonnet and bearing a feather duster. But her looks are deceiving. It turns out she offers much more than housekeeping: She can fix any appliance. Rosey is human-centered and a warm-hearted robot who helps things run smoothly amidst advanced future technology that is designed to help but sometimes difficult for the family to master. Calm and patient with human limits, she strives to provide equilibrium to George’s emotional upsets and shows him how to solve his technical challenges. Rosey becomes an integral part of the family. Initially a robot George did not want, she becomes a beloved family member no one can live without.
Most importantly is what Rosey really gives them. Beneath her squeaky metal parts, Rosey attends not only to the dust in the house but the hearts of her family. She is loyal to each family member and counted on to watch after them. Rosey is what we need too:
Rosey is a symbol of what the humanity within us longs for – she anticipates, reacts, and cares. Rosey provides thoughtful, emotional support in conditions that are complex and far removed from a world we once knew as simpler times. We will need a Rosey on earth in the future, and for humanity who travel great distances into space.
I predict that, inside the next 40 years, we will have a Rosey here for us. She (or he), will be fashioned in a fun, accessible, and warmly styleless way, who will play an essential part of our lives as we age, and designed to help connect, teach, and love us. In a future world, sure to be filled with many buttons, Rosey will help us connect to our inner humanity and make us laugh.
(Photo Credit: SmithsonianMag.com)